World Printmakers
Newsletter, No. 13 May, 2002

Two Memorable German Printmakers
This month World Printmakers features two genial German printmakers, one contemporary and the other historical. And I trust that René Böll won’t object to being mentioned in the same breath with his countryman, Albrecht Dürer. Printmaking owes a great debt to German artists and printers and World Printmakers is pleased to acknowledge their contributions. Dürer, who lived and worked 500 years ago, still looms large in every printmaker’s family tree. And not only printmakers. He was also one of the world’s greatest painters and practically the sole inventor of something that is very dear to us all: the artist. Today’s very high-profile world of art and artists would certainly not be this same without the work done by Dürer half a millennium ago.

One quick look at René Böll’s prints is enough to tell us that we’re faced with the work of an extraordinary person, and this impression is confirmed when we talk with him. Just as he has distilled and purified his “visual voice” over a 35-year career in art, he has also condensed and clarified his ideas, filtering them through his experiences both at home in Germany, in Ireland, where he vacationed as a child and where he still returns frequently, and in China, where he arrived through his interest in Chinese ink painting and philosophy. What strikes me as remarkable in his comments is the unusual mix of idealism and common sense. See if you don’t agree with me.

Implementing the Dream
The second-and-last installment of “Aspiration: Working Artist” also appears on the World Printmakers site this month. It’s about the nuts and bolts of artist's self promotion. We all know artists who do better promotion than art, as well as wonderful artists who do almost no promotion. What this article proposes is a healthy compromise between one extreme and the other. You don’t have to turn yourself into a full-time flack, but neither should you lose sight of the fact that art is, among other things, business.

Another New Service from WP
The World Printmakers Online Exhibition Service is up and running with Raymond St. Arnaud’s show at the Helen S. Smith Gallery in Auburn, Washington. “I was attracted to the service,” says Ray, “because not only do you get the online display, but you get people to look at it!” If you are printmaker with a gallery show or art-fair participation scheduled for the near future, don’t hesitate to contact World Printmakers. We’ll help you find ways of making it more successful, both online and off.

The United Nations of Printmakers
I just discovered a fascinating piece of information offered by our Hitbox.com statistics service called “Countries which have accessed your site this year…” I was stunned to discover that, so far this year, the World Printmakers site has visitors from 86 countries. This is a motive for pride for us, but also a serious responsibility. We may well be one of the principal sources of information for printmakers in many places around the world.

Just for the fun of it (since we’re not in a hurry…) I’m going to list them all here: U.S.A., Spain, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Mexico, France, New Zealand, Singapore, Belgium, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, Japan, Cyprus, Finland, Switzerland, Poland, Denmark, Portugal, Austria, Ireland, Greece, South Africa, Israel, Malaysia, Costa Rica, Saint Lucia, Chile, Columbia, Norway, Romania, Czech Republic, Slovenia, India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Croatia/Hrvatska, Estonia, Dominican Republic, Lithuania, Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates, Taiwan, Bulgaria, Turkey, Uruguay, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Philippines, Cuba, Russian Federation, Trinidad and Tobago, Peru, Luxembourg, Bolivia, Guatemala, Iceland, Latvia, Macedonia, Malta, Slovakia, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegowina, Egypt, Faroe Islands, Lebanon, Namibia, Nepal, Venezuela, Bermuda, Ecuador, Georgia, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Mauritius and Sri Lanka.

Wonderful Websites Department
May I share another wonderful website with you? And this one is a must for anyone who loves (or “craves,” as Nancy Jacobi of The Japanese Paper Place so aptly expresses it) handmade paper. It’s Austrian, Dieter Freyer’s, “Buttenpapier” or “Handmade Paper” site, http://members.vienna.at/difr/emain.html . Freyer has created what must be the definitive paper resource site on the Web, with information, explanations and hundreds of links to paper mills and other paper sources around the world. This, I submit, is Internet at its best.

Creeping Commercialism
Before I sign off, let me call your attention to our new introductory print offer, valid through the month of May, on our Fine Art Print Sales site. This is an opportunity to acquire some extraordinary fine prints—among the best that World Printmakers has to offer—at an extremely friendly introductory price. Don’t miss it. An original fine-art print will make your life a little more bearable!

See you next month.

Count your blessings!

Mike & Maureen Booth
Editors & Publishers
World Printmakers
The Worldwide Showcase for Contemporary
Fine-Art Printmakers
URL: http://www.worldprintmakers.com
Email: miguel@worldprintmakers.com

P.S. If you have gotten this far and found the content of this newsletter of interest mainly to printmakers, but you are not an artist and what you really want to do is browse and buy fine-art prints, please go to http://www.fine-art-print-sales.com, where we will be happy to attend you promptly and courteously.